Jtm-mn-learning

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WHO'S COMING . . . PROGRAM/AGENDA . . . BEST-PRACTICE TOPICS . . . DISCUSSION HOSTS . . . REGISTER NOW . . . LODGING/TRAVEL . . . STIPENDS . . . HOME PAGE. . . STUDY LINKS . . . SPONSORS . . . VIEW MAP . . . COLLABORATION SITE . . . PRE-CONVENING INTERVIEWS . . . SKYPE SESSIONS

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What are the questions you hope to answer at New Pamphleteers?

In a pre-event registration survey, we asked participants: List the three (or more) things you'd most like to learn from fellow participants or experts that will allow you to be more successful in your local online news community building efforts. You may suggest speakers or experts we should invite. Are these matters a professional and business collaboration should address?

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• I'm looking to develop partnerships, learn more about best practices at

other sites and explore low-cost and open source tools.

• In my case, individual effort on the reporting end was everything. It was

extremely difficult to get help, and even paying for help did not succeed. So (1) would be: How do you build and sustain an organization that doesn't depend on one person's effort? That would be (2) and (3) as well!

#Best practices in securing, vetting and rewarding contributors of content in a day when media business models are imploding
1. How to firewall editorial from advertising and avoiding conflicts of
interest in a day of easily generated content and publishing
1. How to raise and generate money: sponsorships, advertising (especially
all the new, federated ad networks) and, perhaps, donations (ala public media)

• 1) Balance of community service vs. sustaining community site as a small

business 2) Issues of nonprofit status and advocacy" "Strategies to involve local business.

• Ways to make the front page more appealing without investing huge $$$

• I've never met a community blogger. I've had the feeling I am one of a

very few to do this. I'm looking forward to hear from their experiences." "I would like to see how fellow participants can use the Patchwork Nation site and data we've created.

• I'd like to see how we can more fully grow and expand the communities

we've identified online.

• I'd like to find and develop partnerships for the site."

• I would like to showcase multi-cultural topics regarding news and the arts

in ways that are inclusive for those seeking to serve the public. My interest is to understand how fellow participants think about risk, how they address various legal considerations as publishers such as threats (actual or potential) of litigation over defamation, privacy, copyright, etc.

• I am new to the web, so everything I learn will be helpful.

"- Needs and challenges faced by current and prospective hyperlocal paper publishers/entrepreneurs - Availability of publishing platforms and related information - Best practices of successful hyperlocal publishing groups"

• "Recruiting quality contributors (more ideas welcome)

Developing networks without spending too much valuable time schmoozing -- Selling advertising -- Selling subscriptions"

1. Ways to generate revenue.
2. Ways to build traffic by spreading the word online.
3. Whether it makes sense to form a content-sharing network of online

sites."

• Right now KAXE is in the process of building web sites in small

communities in northern MN. The process includes recruiting and training citizen journalists and producers of a variety of local contenet for the web sites. Can't say it's a success yet. We are encouraged by the number of participants in jounalism workshops so far.

• I'm interested in hearing how others are building sites and getting people

to participate."

• 1. How to better attract advertisers and subscribers, in order to make

the sites more financially sustainable.

• 2. I'm very interested in collaboration between different placeblogging

and reporting sites."

• (1) I'd like to learn how big ""community"" is for other placebloggers:

how many focus strictly on their town or county, and how many take a statewide focus?

• (2) What's the general sentiment among placebloggers as to our role in our

communities? Are we competitors with the local paper and radio station? investigative journalists? whistleblowers? community events calendars? local boosters? How well do other placebloggers balance their love of place and the desire to put a good face forward with the need sometimes to criticize aspects of their communities and advocate for change?

• (3) I find a lot of my commenters are afraid to speak up, at least by

name. What's the atmosphere like for civil discourse in other communities? How do other placebloggers get readers to embrace the opportunity for public dialogue?

• (4) What sort of content (all serious? family-friendly? humor? research?)

and design features (busy? plain? lots of widgets?) do other palcebloggers use to attract readers and participants?"

• 1. How to reach out to local reporters, bloggers, and interested

citizens to develop an audience and contributors to the issue we are interested in (executive branch performance)

• 2. The status of local online reporting about government and politics

(both MSM and non-MSM)

• 3. If and how readers become commenters, commenters become bloggers, and

bloggers become reporters.

• 4. Interest in reporting on federal government activities on the local

level."

• As a self-funded entrepreneur, (I grew this beast on a shoestring) I'd

like to know why the folks who have real funding and assets fail so miserably.

• I would love to learn community building tips, discussing the moving of

content outside of the walls of your website, and how to monetize your content.

• "Financial sustainability
• Nonprofit or profit business models/plans
• Use of FOIA acquired documents"

• "How do we build a major audience of engaged readers and writers?

How do we stimulate dialog that is civil and productive (captures attention of power brokers)?

• How do we use these community efforts to get more people involved in

grass-roots politics?"

• "1) Ways to maximize quantity of user-created content in a relatively

""open source"" environment

• 2) Ways to maximize quality of user-created content in a relatively ""open

source"" environment

• 3) Ways to build revenue and the future prospects for online advertising.

• Will Google (and/or other big corporations) corner all markets?

• yes on professional and business collaboration."

• I am interested in learning more about reaching the average person who is

not familiar with the nuances of the health care industry but is suffering from rising costs, and problems of access and quality "What motivates citizen journalists to participate in reporting the news? What citizen journalism initiatives have been most successful and why? What is the role of citizen media in the broader news media ecosystem moving forward?"

• "How to get the most impact for the least amount of resources.
• How to best engage visitors.
• How to best promote one's online activities."

• "1. Building a base of contributors.
• 2. Opportunities for funding.
• 3. Best practices in technology (blogs, php, etc.)"

• I would like to learn how to make a web site an effective tool of

communication with your target audience. How to create a sense of local and global community through a web page. And also how to utilize a web site as a resource where by those visiting can reach out and communicate with one another - and what are the most effective ways to do that - i.e.: message boards, user names, profiles, e-mail etc.

• Using video media in citizen journalism, easing the use of video in

citizen journalism, involving the disabled and alternate language users, engaging scattered and small population communities, etc.I feel that while these subjects would be useful for me to learn, they could help 'expand the playing field' of journalism if fully explored.

• I'm always interested in gaining more insight on the back-end/technology

end of things; I also appreciate the personal stories people share that helps me to tap into the innovation and spunk out there...very inspiring.

• "1) Practices to help sustain the interest of those who come to training

sessions to learn citizen journalism and blogging.

• 2) Are there some successful volunteer governance and/or editing models

for online news portions of community websites? for sites as a whole?

• 3) Tips for how-to encourage a community-wide culture of participation on

the Internet."

• "Liability issues for uploaded video
• Video ad models
• Encouraging community to contribute"

• "What size organization works best and why?

• What business model (nonprofit) is most sustainable?

• Which organizations and what people are best serving this ""industry?""

• How can we best collaborate to share vision and purpose?

• Who is now funding operations-level and initiative-level activities?"

• "The importance of building coalitions between ethnic and other minority

local media.

• How to filter out the marketing and adspeak to find authentic stories.

Who is a journalist, who is not and is it important to make that distinction anymore?"

• Comment-policy strategies when things get out of control

• Creative ways you've told stories that aren't so time-consuming they're infeasible for a small operation that posts frequently

• Ad-selling and other revenue strategies"

1. I'm interested in growing community around causes utilizing online tools. 2. I'm interested in methods to expand readership 3. I'm interested in communicating better with the traditional media."

1) How can independent media makers ""successfully"" negotiate with traditional broadcasters to sell/share their media?

2) Do independent media makers need traditional broadcasters?

3) How are media makers thinking about Net Neutrality? Do they care? Are they working to protect Net Neutrality?"

• How to engage reader to become commenters and authors.

How/whether to best use video (how often, live/pre-recorded, etc.) How to increase readership of target audience,"

• The New Pamphleteers/New Reporters conference appears to be an excellent

opportunity to learn more about communicating electronically and economically with the public. I would especially like to learn:

1. How to best draw people to my information, 2. How to best present my information, and 3. More technical information on electronic communication."

• Building relationships with the traditional press
• Gaining readership from beyond online communities
• Non-profit funding sources"
• Gaining financial support either through fundraising, grants or ad sales
• Technical skills (video and podcasting)"
• Best examples of making community based journalism work; trying to instill

a sense of ethics and objectivity into blogs and community news web sites.

• How they research, find information about, the topics they cover.
• How they evaluate, assess, verify that information
• The extent to which they direct their readers to additional resources"

• I would like to learn how they did it -- from the inception to the implementation.

• I would like to know how they go about identifying potential profit pools.

• And I would like to suggest a speaker: Christopher Zook: Author of

Unstoppable: Finding Hidden Assets To Renew the Core and Fuel Profitable Growth."

1. How to edit video 2. Decorum for engaging fellow blogger 3. History of pamphleteers"

• How to successfully establish and maintain journalistic standards without a professional editor.

• How to motivate volunteers to continue to produce content.

• How best to aggregate audiences.

• How to mix news, commentary and information while maintaining the distinction between them.

• Systems for allowing users to highlight content.

• Integration with social networking sites."

• What tools do journalists use and are most beneficial in disseminating information?
• What tools do journalists use and are most beneficial for gathering information?
• What are the challenges in establishing and maintaining credibility in the eyes of users and how can they be overcome?"

1. New Business Models for Journalism. 2. How might professional journalists work with placebloggers? What news and information needs do placebloggers have? 3. How might placebloggers work with the Representative Journalism project."